Mr Hunter was appointed in May 2016 when he said the chief constable had six months to improve the force when it was rated inadequate by HMIC.

However, Ms Curran announced her retirement earlier this year after being asked to reconsider her position when further “significant failings” were found following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

In an interview with The Times concerning sexism fears in police, Ms Curran said: "It was clear from the beginning that he was never prepared to give me a real chance."

She acknowledged inspectors found the force required improvement but said this had been a historical issue.

She added chief constables had "no protection" if a PCC wanted to remove them.

Mr Hunter says the poor performance of the force under Ms Curran had been “well documented” in a number of HMIC reports.

He said he “lost confidence” and was “completely undermined” by Ms Curran when a decision was made to withhold the findings of an HMIC investigation, which revealed further inadequacies within the force.

He said: "Following my election as PCC in 2016 I very clearly indicated that the force must progress in some specific areas and must not receive a further grading of ‘inadequate’ by HMIC.

"When a further HMIC inspection identified new significant failings, likely to lead to a further grading of ‘inadequate’ in the key area of vulnerability, a considered decision was taken at the highest levels in the force to withhold that information from me and to invite HMIC back into the force for a further inspection, again without informing me.

"Legal advice was sought and Ms Curran was given the opportunity to retire prior to the initiation of the statutory procedure to remove a Chief Constable; she took that opportunity. Ms Curran had nearly four years in charge at Humberside Police, and about nine months under my tenure as PCC before action was taken.

"Any suggestion that this was precipitous or in any way associated with gender is without foundation. Throughout this period it was the residents of the Humberside Police area and the officers and staff of the force who were the people poorly served, and action was necessary to deal with the underperformance."

Nearly 70 per cent of officers said they lacked confidence in Ms Curran's leadership following a staff survey.